Hazmat Helga and the Almighty Hygienist meet Liberty!

Learning to stand up to bullies will make you stronger.

Off to the dentist! Ugh. She hates the dentist. She’s had some traumatic events happen while in the dental chair including a grand mal seizure. The dentist is no picnic, and it comes with lots of anxiety and stress.

I’ve been here before. Not at this dental location, but this… this place. This place of knowing I would have to advocate for Jessica’s well-being. I’ve done it before, so I know I can do it again.

Let me back up. When we moved to Florida in 2020 we had to start over with all new healthcare for Jessica. The only provider for her dental care is Central Florida Health Care, which is adult disability medicaid. The first appointment went well. The dental hygienist has a special needs kid, so she knew the dental battles we faced with brushing, flossing and taking care of teeth. I was with Jessica the entire time.

Jessica’s next cleaning appointment at the same location was in 2022, and it was all different. That hygienist was no longer there. A new batch of employees showed their faces to us. This time, it was less than desirable. The hygienist firmly said I was “not allowed” to go back with Jessica for her cleaning. Jessica’s eyes tripled in size and she looked to me for guidance. I saw her fear and anxiety, and I saw the uncertainty from her of how to proceed. So I spoke up.

I politely said, “She needs me to come back with her because she is very nervous.”

Simple, right? That should have been the end of it. Nope.

The almighty hygienist decided her will would usurp my will. Wrong thing to decide when you are dealing with an advocate. She proceeded to play the HIPAA card. “Due to HIPAA we can’t let you be back here.” Wrong. HIPAA didn’t apply to the situation because I wasn’t representing the healthcare establishment and releasing a patient’s private medical information without their consent. Besides, what is the difference if I overhear a person’s dental woes vs. the other patients back there hearing it?

I tried to refrain from rolling my eyes and responded, “If I don’t come back, she doesn’t come back.”

That presented a new problem for the almighty hygienist. I instantly felt her feathers swipe me across the face as she extended her wings like a vulture readying to land on and eat it’s prey . She squawked the words through her gritted beak, “The rooms are very small, so there would be nowhere for you to stand.”

I smirked. “I’ll stand in the corner out of your way.”

She looked at Jess and could see by her face that the anxiety was building, and responded, “Let’s just go ahead with this appointment, but next time you should find a different place to go.”

I was shocked, but I didn’t respond. She proceeded to lead us to the room where Jessica sat, I stood in the doorway, and she cleaned Jessica’s teeth without incident. We left.

Fast forward six months and they found themselves without a dentist or hygienist and continued to cancel and reschedule appointments for a year. The final cancellation phone call I was told I could reschedule at the other location on the other side of town, so I accepted. Which brings us to yesterday.

We showed up for her x-rays and exam at the new location. They called her name. We both stand up and walk through the door into the room. The dental x-ray person said they are going to take x-rays and I was welcome to wait in the waiting area until Jessica was done. At which time I took off my advocacy hat, spit on it, and polished it with my shirt before saying, “That’s okay, I’ll be staying with Jessica for this appointment.”

What I got in return was a vulture like stare before she huffed, “When I leave to push the x-ray button follow me out.” I agree to do so. Next, the actual dentist comes in and examines Jessica’s teeth and we talked about the findings. Perfectly nice lady. I signed the paperwork as her legal guardian. My instructions were to come back for a cleaning tomorrow morning.

We arrived this morning and her name was called. We both stood up and walked past the hygienist who was holding the door open. She was wearing what looked like a hazmat suit with a face shield, goggles, mask, and gloves. I think she got the date wrong and it is 2023, not 2020, but I digress.

She instructed Jessica to have a seat in the chair and turned to me and said, “You can wait out in the waiting room and we’ll bring Jessica out when she is done.” This time I was prepared. My advocate hat was clean, polished and made of steel. In a polite voice I respond with, “That’s okay. I’ll stay with Jessica. I’ll just stand in a corner so I can stay out of your way.”

That should’ve been the end of it. Nope.

She sat herself in the computer chair and wheeled over to the computer. “We can’t have you back here…..for safety reasons,” she said beaming with pride for reciting the company slogan with such precision and perfection.

Safety? Who’s safety? Does the spit straw run the risk of sucking all of us up? Will the electric toothbrush thingy run amuck and over brush? Maybe she’s worried the waterpik will go rogue and spray her in the eye. I shook my head from side to side and said, “If I leave, she leaves.”

“And who are you?” She spit her words at me.

“I’m her mom.” I firmly responded.

She stumbled through her next words as she looked at her computer screen, “This will take a few minutes. I’ll have to figure out how to do this.”

Ummm, how to do what, I’m wondering?

I quickly survey the room and notice it’s large. There are two corners to sit in, and one even has a chair already in it! Then it happened, “I’ll be right back.” As she wisked herself away past the “SAFE SPACE” poster and the wall sized partly colored, coloring page for when they feel unsafe, I guess. She had to go speak to her boss.

She returned a few minutes later and instructed me to go sit in the chairs around the corner in the hallway, “For privacy reasons because we have other patients back here.” Aaaand here we go again with HIPAA.

I was already mentally tired of the back and forth so I asked Jessica if she was okay with me sitting in the chairs around the corner, as I pointed to the wall. I received a hard pass as she shook her head back and forth, with tears in her eyes. At that point, I took a minute to comfort Jessica, pat her on the back and verbally tell her loud enough to be heard by hazmat Helga, that it was okay, I wasn’t leaving, and that I’d stay right there, where she could see me.

Jessica put her earbuds back into her ears and began to escape into her world of music to calm herself.

Visually perturbed by my mere presence in the sacred teeth cleaning cave, the lady began talking to Jessica and wanted her to lay her head back. That led to her ear buds falling out and her shifting around desperately searching for them. So, I did the motherly duty and replaced the ear buds with the over-the-ears headphones I was holding, just in case. I checked with hazmat Helga first, to make sure she could still do her job. This small incident rubbed salt in hazmat Helga’s wound. Through masked gritted teeth, she said it was fine.

Next, I heared hazmat Helga ask Jessica if she wanted bubblegum, chocolate, vanilla, or mint toothpaste. Now, because this ain’t my first rodeo I didn’t wait for Jessica to respond. I knew that mint was the best possible outcome, so I peeked my head over the shoulder of the dangerous waterpik lady and told her that Jessica does best with mint. I think she growled.

Smooth sailing the rest of the appointment, which lasted 15 minutes.

15 minutes? To clean someone’s teeth that hadn’t been cleaned for over a year due to their continued cancellations?

Hmmm.

I wonder if she did her job thoroughly? Don’t answer that.

As Jessica stood up and came over to me the professional teeth cleaner looked away from me and told me Jessica should have her next appointment in February. At this point because I was amused by her inability to even look at me I asked, “Should I make the appointment on the way out?”

She avoided eye contact and instructed me to call in December for the next appointment. I decided to have even more fun since she didn’t appear to want to do her job, or run the risk of melting should her eyes accidentally meet mine and said, “So is everything okay with her teeth? Did everything look good?”

She found something more amusing to look at besides me and said, “Yes.”

I thanked her and told Jess, “Let’s go!”

We walked out to the car and Jessica asked me, “Is she mean to you?”

I laughed.

I had the legal guardianship paperwork with me and had she continued her defiance of my parental authority, and my advocacy for a disabled adult, I would have taken them from my holster and fired. She walked a thin line between the court order and my attorney who would have been more than happy to take my call this morning.

Looking back, what I could have done (if I were a mean person) was let Jessica pick the bubblegum toothpaste because she recognized the word bubblegum. Then I could have sat there and watch hazmat Helga change her hazmat suit after a Jessica threw up the bubblegum toothpaste all over her.

During the past 30 years of advocacy, I have learned to stand up for Jessica in ways I probably would’ve never stood up for myself.

I learned that without a backbone, without courage, without the willingness to speak up, I would instead cower in fear and be sent packing to the back of the line. I would be washed over, discarded, and dictated to. I would not be taken seriously. I would not be listened to. I would not be an effective advocate for myself or for anyone else who needed me, without those lessons.

I have learned that when the Almighty Hygienist and Hazmat Helga want to dictate to me, they would instead meet Liberty!

I don’t think any of them liked to be challenged. They are used to compliant patients who do what they are told without questioning anything. Well, I’m here to tell you it’s time to stop complying and start challenging.

I have learned to stand up.

I have learned to be a voice of reason.

I have learned to be taken seriously.

I have learned that I deserve respect.

I do it for Jessica because she can’t do it for herself.

But, in 2020 I learned to do it for me, my kids, my grand kids, and great grand kids.

I took a hard look at what happened with the almighty Hygienist and hazmat Helga and applied it to our current situation in this world. I like teachable moments. I soak them up and use them to clean dirty tables.

As we hear the swirling rumors (and they may be only that….rumors - so far because they “leaked” that covid is supposedly striking again which may require more muzzles and lockdowns, magically the big pHARMa stocks are on the rise! See how that psychological operation works? People are going to get more boosted up with their phony poison injections just because they think they heard people are getting sick and the govt wants to protect us by locking us down and muzzling us- with absolutely zero proof of that actually happening….) that the current powers that (shouldn’t) be are going to demand we mask up and lock down once again…for ya know, pretend safety… I will say… advocate for yourself.

Do not allow yourself to be dictated to by an unlawful government regime. The only way to stop a bully is to stand up to them. We failed in 2020. They got away with it and salivated. There are no laws governing American citizens to just shut up and do what we are told.

Refuse to comply. If you didn’t refuse last time, refuse this time.

Stop “testing”. You fuel their agenda and pad their numbers every time a “test” is taken. Step out of the matrix! You will live happier and have less anxiety. If you feel sickly - take care of yourself with known remedies for colds and flu. Did you used to test every time you got a sniffle? If you tell them you “tested positive” they will treat you like you have the plague (which this isn’t) and won’t help you anyway. Give yourself permission to walk away from this senseless “testing” garbage.

Stop injecting yourself with their poison shots. Do some research. You will find how horrible the shots are if you don’t already know. Sudden adult death syndrome anyone? Debilitating health decline and medical bills anyone? It’s a psychological operation against the people, if you aren’t already awakened to that reality.

Don’t let the almighty hygienist convince you that you have no choice. Don’t let hazmat Helga order you to follow her demands. The only way you could possibly be compelled to “obey” is if Congress or your state legislatures pass a federal or state law. That is even debatable under certain circumstances.

Beyond that, you aren’t helping anyone with blind compliance. You aren’t protecting anyone with a cloth mask. You aren’t protecting anyone by staying locked in your house.

Do you realize that our governing authority is God first, and The United States Constitution second? We follow federal laws and state laws. But, we do not follow politicians, corporations, and mandates made up by power hungry people sitting in a position of authority. We have been brainwashed over the decades to believe a lie. We don’t work for the government. The government works for us. They are NOT our bosses. We are their boss. They are subject to the United States Constitution and the governed. They don’t get to go rogue and force we the peasants to obey. If you aren’t clear on that, go searching and brush up on history, and civics 101. Know what God says and what the Bill of Rights says BEFORE they come to flex their muscles and wield unfettered power over us.

If this country will survive, it will be with the help of God, and on the backs of Americans with strength, backbone, courage, and resolve to protect the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Without that, it will fall into complete tyranny by a dictator. We are barely hanging on as it is. I am profoundly grateful that so many men before us stood up and were willing to face fears, dig deep and give their lives for the freedom we’ve enjoyed in this country for so long.

I know that someday I will stand before God and make an account for my life. I want to be able to say I stood up for one of the little ones, my daughter. I want to be able to say I stood up in the face of tyranny and corruption and fought for what was right in the face of fear. I don’t want to hang my head and know that I complied and did nothing, or worse yet stayed silent.

You want inspiration? Read about Joshua in the Bible. Read about Daniel. Read about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Read about the courageous and ask God for the courage to fight back.

Then go watch Braveheart with Mel Gibson.

Know your enemy. Have a plan. Decide early what the response will be. Then pray for courage. And be courageous!

Give me liberty, or give me death!

We will not comply!